Imagery is a way to amplify theme in Macbeth by William Shakespeare. It portrays many different themes in the play. Imagery is used in many different ways, such as blood, animals and, light and dark. Blood plays a significant role in this play and there is a lot of blood being shed, giving us a sense of horror and guilt. Macbeth makes his first kill after killing Duncan and he is freaking out about the blood on his hands. “ Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No: this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine Making the green one red”(Shakespeare, II.ii.60-63). “...Fear, horror and pain is increased...being Macbeth’s description of himself wading in a river of blood”(Spurgeon 126). Lady Macbeth …show more content…
Therefore, weak and strong animals display a great impact on how people describe others and their situations. Light and dark plays a big role in imagery as it sets the mood; darkness where evil deeds occur and the light as revealing the deeds. Macbeth is speaking to himself on the side after Malcolm is crowned Prince of Cumberland. “Stars, hide your fires! Let not the light see my black and deep desires”(I.iv.50-51). Macbeth is so greedy that he does not want anyone to see his dark desires to capture the throne:”The idea that only in darkness can such evil deeds be done is ever present”(Spurgeon 124). Macbeth is telling his wife how Banquo and his son, Fleance, need to die. “Come, seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day And with thy bloody and invisible hand Cancel the tear to pieces that great bond which keeps me pale! Light thickens and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood.(Shakespeare, III.ii.46-57). He is calling for the night to cover the daylight so that Banquo can be killed. Macbeth is telling the murderer to kill Banquo and his son. "Fleance his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me Than is his father's, must embrace the fate Of that dark hour" (III.i.135-138). He refers to the ‘dark hour’ as the time when they die, and since they are travelling during the night. All in all, light and dark play a big role in impacting the the play. In conclusion, imagery
Blood as a motif appears early in the play. In this particular part of the play, blood is shown to represent future acts of violence. While waiting for the signal to enter the king's chamber to kill King Duncan, Macbeth spots an imaginary dagger. Macbeth eyes down the dagger, and sees blood slowly creeping its way down. He proclaims, “And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood,/ Which was not so before” (2.1.58-59). Macbeth is extremely hesitant about committing a regicide against King Duncan, and when he sees the dagger, he is already imagining it covered in King Duncan's blood. This paranoia is representative of the immense presence of violence and fear in the play. At the same time, Macbeth is already feeling guilty for even contemplating whether he should kill King Duncan. Macbeth ends up following through with his and Lady Macbeth’s plan: regicide of Duncan.
The second type of literary device that Shakespeare uses in Macbeth is symbolism. The predominant symbol is blood and is used as an effective method to describe the theme of the play. Not only does blood symbolize bravery, it is also a means of showing treachery and treason and probably most importantly, guilt. One example of bravery occurs when the captain says, "For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name--/Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,/Which smoked with bloody execution"(1.2.16-18). Soon after this blood changes into a representation of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to "Make thick my blood,/ Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse" (1.5. 43-44). She asks the spirits to take away compassion and make her remorseless for the actions she is about to take. Also, when Ross asks, "Is’t known who did this more than bloody deed?" (2.4.22), he tries to figure out who performed the disloyal act of murdering the king. Blood is also used many times to express the guilt-ridden consciences of the characters. For instance, Macbeth says, "What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine own eyes!/ Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash the blood/ Clean from my hand?" (2.3.58-60). Macbeth obviously feels guilty for killing Duncan in cold blood. Later in the play, Lady Macbeth
William Shakespeare wove many motifs like blood into his play Macbeth, written in 1606. These motifs serve to reveal many different aspects of the plot, characters, and themes. The Blood motif is often used throughout the play to symbolize guilt, or the lack of it. The two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are driven by ambition to commit evil actions including murder. Lady Macbeth plots to have her husband murder king Duncan of Scotland, so that Macbeth can take the throne. But, with all the murder committed in the play comes blood, and furthermore the feeling of guilt eventually corrupts the characters. It is important to realize in Macbeth, blood is not just a fluid that circulates in the vascular system of humans, but is as well used to symbolize potential occurrences in the future and express a deeper meaning than what can be physically seen. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the blood motif is used to symbolize the feeling of guilt as well as a dark time throughout the play.
Blood coats the play Macbeth from the beginning to end. It plays an important part in this play and is mentioned over 40 times. (english) Blood itself is a source of life and shocking to see. The constant presence of blood in Macbeth repeatedly reminds the audience about how serious the consequences of the characters actions are. The blood remains on the hands of faces of the murderers. They are unable to remove the feel , or stain of the blood therefore showing their immense guilt. Just before he kills King Duncan,
Blood is mentioned throughout the play and mainly in reference to murder or treason. The first reference to blood is in MacBeth's soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 33-61, when Macbeth sees the bloody dagger floating in the air before him. Also in this soliloquy on line 46 he sees "on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood", this means that there is blood on the handle and spots of blood on the handle. This is implying that the dagger was viciously and maliciously used on someone. Shakespeare most likely put this in
These multiple themes include guilt, violence, and family. Blood is used often to represent other things besides the obvious, death. First, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth feel guilt throughout their killing spree, though they try their best not to show one another. Macbeth asks himself, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” and answers with no, as he knows that nothing can be done now that him and his wife have plotted against and killed King Duncan.
Macbeth is a play that entails the journey of Macbeth as he becomes the King of Scotland but will face many moral dilemmas and challenges along the way. William Macbeth uses symbolism of blood, the invisible dagger, and the witches to illustrate guilt and the evil of the human soul when Macbeth goes against his values and beliefs. In the first place, the blood that is on Macbeth’s hands after killing King Duncan represents his guilt about having just committed the act of murder. Macbeth himself describes how his actions can never be forgiven by himself or God and questions if “all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/Clean from [his] hand?” (Crowther 2.2.61-62). Macbeth describes how even all the water from
Imagery is any piece of language that provokes the readers mind to form a mental picture or image.
The symbolic use of blood, forms in the opening lines of Macbeth after accepting honour for his bravery in battle. His sword, “smoked with bloody execution” signifies valiant fighting as a brave soldier, and he is
Blood is everywhere in the play Macbeth from the beginning of the war, all the way to the end of Macbeths death. Now we don’t just mean the blood that flows though the veins and hearts of us but the imaginary blood. The guilt that comes from all of the blood shed is what really makes this all crazy.
In the beginning of the play, blood imagery is very important. "Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chaps, / and fixed his head upon our battlements"(I.ii.22-23). Macbeth has just killed the enemy and become a hero; Macbeth killed the enemy not for fame or fortune but to defend his land and people. In this next quote Macbeth's
Duncan's blood on the Macbeths' hands is symbol of the evil crime they committed, the guilt of which cannot be washed away. Pontius Pilate is the supreme example of the futility of the symbolic act of 'washing the hands' to expunge guilt. History will forever hold him guilty. Macbeth's curse, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red. (II,iii,61)" The symbol was also used earlier as Lady Macbeth tries to blame of the murder on the sleeping grooms, "...smear the sleepy grooms with blood. (II,II,49)" Lady Macbeth's remark on her entry shorty after that "A little water clears us of this deed; How easy it is then!" shows that she has less immediate guilt for the crime, where Macbeth's conscience is eating away at him, or that she has not yet absorbed the enormity of the deed. The same symbol of evil deeds not being washed away is brought out again in (V,II,17) where Angus says, "Now does he feel His secret murders sticking on his hands;" The bloody hand appears again when Lady Macbeth has the waking dreams in which she curses,
In the play ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare uses brutal imagery, with association of blood. The mood of disgust and horror towards the characters and setting is established by the references to the universal representation of death and pain. The first mention of blood seems to establish a sense of honor. The second mention of blood seems to communicate betrayal. Lastly the third allusion of blood appears to establish a sense of guilt All of these images of blood help develop the atmosphere and scene and contribute to the over all drama of the play.
The Viewers have known blood to all of us to represent life, death and often injury. Blood is an essential part of life and without blood, we could not live. This is known to everyone, and because of this, when Shakespeare uses the imagery of blood to represent treason, guilt, murder and death. The audience have easily understands it and fits it in perfectly with the ideas we have of blood. Blood is the most prominent and seems to be the most important imagery of Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’.
The first occurrence of blood signifying guilt is during Macbeth’s soliloquy, when he is hallucinating a dagger is in front of him and debating whether to kill Duncan or not.